Still no improvement in Lukka's condition, we have been to the vet four times in the past week and a half, if she still hasn't gotten better by her next appointment on Monday she will be biopsied for Masticatory Myositis. Stressed

is an inflammatory disease in dogs affecting the muscles of mastification (chewing). It is also known as atrophic myositis or eosinophilic myositis. MMM is the most common inflammatory myopathy in dogs.[1] The disease mainly affects large breed dogs.

this is what I foundis this right?? lukka'sma??

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I hope that Lukka is feeling better soon! I looked up Masticatory Myositis on my vet's website, (http://www.pinecrestvet.com/299221.html) to summarize it-I hope correctly- it is when the immune system attacks the 2M muscle fibers that are only found in the jaw muscles

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Simply put, it's when the immune system attacks the chewing muscles. Treatment usually consists of high doses of catabolic steroids such as Prednisone until the jaw can easily open, and then dosage is reduced, but continued.

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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant

Last month, our English Bulldog Ipanema started showing signs of an auto-immune desease called Masticular Muscle Myositis (MMM). We ran a full blood test and the results were spotless. She has always been a very healthy dog, and despite the swollen jaw muscles and the right side of her face looking like she had a stoke, she was very healthy at the time.

We started treating the symptoms with 20mg of prednisone twice a day for a month (starting on August 9th). Since she was able to open her mouth fully again after four weeks of treatment, we decreased the daily dosage to 15mg (three pills) twice a day.

Yesterday, she started showing the symptoms again, this time a bit stronger than when it started. We took her to the vet and he gave her a shoot of flucort. Almost 24 hours later, she hasn't improved much, but seems to be in less pain.

I've always treated my dogs with traditional medicine and I really don't know where I should go from here. My online research has shown that I am doing everything by the book and there is nothing else I can do to improve her condition with the traditional approach. I was hoping the community could help me answer the following questions:

1) Is there another desease more common in Bulldogs that looks like MMM? Apparently, MMM is very common in larger breeds like Shepards and Labradors, but I haven't found information regarding Bulldogs.

2) Can it be an allergic reaction? Am I missing anything?

3) Should I pursue a biopsy of her masticular tissue? Would the results help me to find a better treatment?